California’s system of direct democracy is a thoroughly private business. Initiatives are written privately. They’re sponsored privately. They’re shaped by private polling. They’re discussed and debated as much in private (the people with money determine the content). The money behind them is raised in private.

But their impact is profoundly public – indirectly through public understanding (or misunderstanding) that results from the campaigns – and in the public policy enacted via ballot measures statutes and constitutional amendments. Read more here.